"Vinny Watch" is practically ice cold

Another report on the status of Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro was posted on ESPN.com Sunday. I agree with some parts, disagree with others -- so here’s a full rundown. Basically, things haven’t changed from the story I wrote in the Dec. 24 editions:
--The chances are close to zero that Del Negro is still the coach next summer when the Bulls start their free-agent push for Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, LeBron James and whoever else.
--The Bulls are NOT anxious to fire Del Negro. They’d rather he finish the season, thank the Bulls for giving him a great career opportunity and help him clean out his office.
--The Bulls have played a tough early schedule (Lakers, Denver, Boston, Cleveland, Atlanta all twice each). The slate starts to get a little easier and Tyrus Thomas is back from a broken arm. So if the Bulls stay competitive for a playoff spot, Del Negro should be fine.
Consider this stat: Once January is over, 13 of the Bulls’ final 17 road games are against teams that currently have a losing record.
--If the Bulls keep dropping winnable home games or losing by 30 points, Del Negro will again be on dangerous ground. There is certainly no guarantee he’ll finish the season.
--For now, the Bulls are surely discussing future coaching candidates. They’d like a player-friendly coach, so that probably rules out Avery Johnson and Jeff Van Gundy.
Lawrence Frank, Byron Scott and Kevin McHale figure to be possibilities. Almost no chance Doug Collins gets involved again. But it’s wide open right now and the established coaches tend to shy away from taking over at mid-season. That’s another reason they’ll try to keep Del Negro.

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Mike McGraw has covered the Bulls since 1995, becoming the full-time beat writer in 1999. He is still haunted by memories of the 1973 Game 7 collapse against the Lakers, Rick Barry and Lionel Hollins. The passion wasn't quite the same during the championship era, but he does appreciate having a good seat at the Delta Center for Michael Jordan's final shot with the Bulls in 1998.

These days, the Stevenson High School graduate enjoys coaching youth sports and tries to incorporate principles taught by Tim Floyd, Bill Cartwright and Scott Skiles into every practice.